(Orleans)– Ann annual rite of spring is underway on the Iowa Great Lakes.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has started up its annual gillnetting operations. Donna Muhm, a Natural Resources Biologist with the State Fish Hatchery in Orleans, says crews wrapped up netting Northern Pike last week.
Gillnetting for Walleye got underway Monday evening and is expected to continue for about a week…weather permitting. The operations are taking place on Big Spirit Lake, and East and West Lakes Okoboji.
Six crews of two people each are doing the gillnetting.
The public is invited to see the operation firsthand. The Fish Hatchery in Orleans is open daily right now from 7:30 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. seven days-a-week. Muhm says they’ll maintain those hours until the hatch is complete in mid-May.
Muhm says while you’re at the hatchery you should check out some newly rennovated aquariums located in the main entrance.
Muhm says the best time to visit the hatchery is about 8:30 in the morning when female walleye are stripped of their eggs; at 6:00 p.m. when fish are sorted for spawning readiness; and at 7:00 p.m. when male walleye are stripped.
Copyright GCI. All rights reserved.
